Monday, April 05, 2010

The Galley Girls Dragonboat Crew is a team of 26 women of all ages, backgrounds, and sizes, known not only for their athletic endeavours, but also for their enthusiasm, sportsmanship and team spirit. They have been paddling together for 4 years. They started off as a recreational team, but have become more and more competitive as they went along.

The 2009 racing season was stellar for the team, they started with a gold medal win at the Ottawa Dragonboat Festival, and finished with a third place win at Nationals, earning them a qualifying spot in the Club Crew World Championships (CCWC) being held this July in Macau, China.

These wins were earned through alot of sacrifice and hard work. The team trains all year long, in the gym, at paddling clinics, and at the side of the pool. They are the first Ottawa women's team ever to be competing in a World Championship event. They are thrilled to be able to bring Ottawa and womens sport to an international stage. All this training, and travelling, however, is very costly and the Galley Girls are in need of some support in order to get them there.

The Galley Girls continue to strive for excellence in our sport: they are committed to improving their standings in all events in which we participate, while maintaining their high level of sportsmanship and enthusiasm. They are positive role models not only in the community and in their families but to athletes young and old: their team embodies the qualities of commitment, effort, support and teamwork.

A bowling fundraiser is taking place on Sunday, April 18. Money raised goes towards training, travel, paying for race entry fees. The team is also looking for prizing donations for the bowling fundraiser. If you are a local buisiness that can help out with prizing please contact Stephanie Brousseau at: sbrousseau@rogers.com or go to galleygirls.ca for additional information.

Friday, April 02, 2010

Child prodigy Adora Svitak says the world needs "childish" thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Kids' big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups' willingness to learn from children as much as to teach.